News from Seattle's Office of Economic Development

The Seattle Center Monorail might be accepting ORCA card payments soon. Mayor Ed Murray has proposed ORCA card payments for the Monorail to allow easier access between the major hubs in Seattle. By implementing ORCA cards on the Monorail, the commute will be easier for residents of the city. The ORCA card is currently the transit card for the King County Metro, the Water Taxi, the Sound Transit system, Streetcars and the Washington Ferries.

Mayor Murray said, “Seattle Center is becoming more connected to downtown, and the Monorail is the best path between these two important hubs. Creating a seamless transit network that ultimately sweeps across downtown will connect Queen Anne to South Seattle, the University of Washington to the Gates Foundation, KeyArena to SeaTac. The Monorail may have been built in a different era, but it plays a vital role for connecting Seattle Center to today’s regional transportation network.”

A yearlong study conducted by the Seattle Department of Transportation found more than two million people ride the Monorail yearly. Although ridership flocculates on a day to day basis, the overall ridership is projected to increase by 7-16% within the first three years of ORCA implementation.

The monorail will keep their cash payment system and plan on adding a credit card and ORCA option. When ORCA is implemented, there will be a $0.25 fare increase.

Whether you are starting or expanding your restaurant or mobile food business, the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development (OED) offers resources that will help you succeed. Those looking for help navigating the regulatory requirements for getting your restaurant or mobile food business started, looking for financial help, counseling on various aspects of your restaurant business, or advice on how to troubleshoot an issue or figure out next steps, this orientation will help you get connected to a variety of resources available to you. Bring your questions to this orientation and meet the City of Seattle’s OED who can help provide and guide you to the resources that will help you get started and grow.

For more information about navigating the requirements and regulations for opening or expanding a restaurant or mobile food business, take a look through the Restaurant Success website.

Seattle’s strong ensemble of innovation and entrepreneurship organizations is getting a new addition. Shenzhen’s BGI, one of the world’s leading genomics companies, is opening an innovation center in Seattle that aims to use genomics to develop technologies and collaborative projects in life science, global health, and related fields.

Genomics is a field of science that leverages genetics to find solutions to some of the greatest challenges global society faces. Examples include securing food shortages, preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change, and eradicating diseases that kill millions across the globe. BGI’s pedigree in genomics is unmatched. BGI has generated over 1,000 publications and specializes in innovative, high profile research in fields such as healthcare, agriculture, conservation, and environmental fields. Their goal is to make genomics testing highly accessible to researchers and patients across the globe.

BGI co-founder and genomics pioneer Dr. Jian Wang was in Seattle last week to attend the Microsoft CEO Summit and announce the Innovation Center. Wang has previous ties to Seattle, completing a senior research fellowship at the University of Washington early in his career.

Wang has made it clear that BGI will collaborate with other bio research titans in Seattle. During his stay, he met with University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and UW medicine CEO Paul Ramsey, as well as Dr. Linda Buck, Nobel Laureate and researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. BGI has strong partnerships with leading research institutes in the area, including UW Medicine, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Seattle’s already thriving life sciences sector partnering with BGI’s innovation center will have innumerable global benefits. “With the partnership between UW Medicine and BGI, more innovations in research, education and healthcare will be developed between Seattle and Shenzhen to benefit the health of people worldwide,” Wang stated.

The Rainier Beach Merchant Association has a new Community Business Manager. Seattle’s maritime industry turns to local high schools to solve labor shortage. More evidence emerges that Seattle is the destination for software engineers. Salt and Straw comes to Seattle.

1. The Rainier Beach Merchant Association announced Phyllis Porter as their new Community Business Manager. Porter previously served as a Community Partner with the Seattle Department of Transportation. The Community Business Manager is a position funded through the Office of Economic Development’s Only in Seattle grants. Congrats Phyllis!

2. Seattle’s maritime industry aims to expose high school students to job opportunities in the maritime sector. On Thursday, 100 students from local high schools toured Seattle’s maritime academy. Rainier Beach High School student Malcom Dunston stated that “It’s awesome…. [to be] out here and trying out new things I’ve never tried before.” The Seattle maritime sector is expecting a shortage of 150,000 workers by 2025. Industry leaders are hoping that that gap can be filled by increasing outreach to Seattle’s talented youth.

3. Vancouver and Seattle are neighboring cities that have a lot in common. Both cities are renowned for their vibrant culture, nightlife, and penchant for out of the box ideas. However, currently Seattle is the hotter destination for software engineers. A new study reported by Business Vancouver found that software engineers in Seattle earn almost twice as much as their Vancouver counterparts, while also benefiting from lower housing cost. The analysis also gave Seattle the advantage over San Francisco.

4. Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that Salt and Straw, a Portland based ice cream company, will open their first Seattle location in Capitol Hill on Pike and Boylston. Salt and Straw is known for their unique flavors and fun atmosphere and will join other Seattle ice cream titans such as Molly Moon’s, Bluebird ice cream, Frankie & Joe’s, among others. Welcome to the neighborhood Salt and Straw!

Catalyze Seattle and Reboot Seattle aim to empower local women. There’s an LGBTQ youth job fair at the Miller Center. More money is allocated to the city’s Technology Matching Fund. Draze partners with OED to fight gentrification.

1. Two Seattle women are helping local startups hire more women. GeekWire reports that Martha Burwell and Ruchika Tulshyan have started a project called Catalyze Seattle, which aims to collect data on the demographics of startups and make recommendations to firms that want to hire more women and other minorities.

2. The Seattle Times recently profiled Reboot Seattle, a company that offers an eight-week re-entry course for women who want to return to the workforce after a period of being away. According to the article “ReBoot borrows techniques from the recently popular coding boot camps, which teach people computer code in a couple months, and tech accelerators, which provide resources to get startups off the ground”. They help their students get familiar with the latest workplace technology tools, update their LinkedIn profile, learn salary negotiation, and plan for their next step.

4. Statescoop reports that the City of Seattle will devote $404,000 in new funding to support the Digital Equity Initiative. The Digital Equity Initiative aims to make technology, Internet access, and technology career paths accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic status. The article reports “grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded to winning applicants through the city’s Technology Matching Fund — for each dollar provided by the city, organizations match 50 cents in labor, materials or funding”. Apply at the City of Seattle Office of Information Technology.

5. Draze is a Seattle rapper who has spoken out about gentrification throughout his career. Now, he is partnering up with the Office of Economic Development to fight against gentrification. He aims to have 100 new black-owned businesses up and running in Seattle by the end of the year. Read about his plan on NextCity

Seattle’s tech workers have high rates of disposable income. Seattle hosted its first LGBT economic summit. Ravenna Solutions is bought by national education company. Puget Sound Business Journal reviews the biggest start-up deals of 2016.

1. Seattle’s tech workers have the highest disposable income in the country, per a new report from Zillow and LinkedIn. They have $5,500 of their monthly income left over, compared to $4,000 for San Francisco’s tech workers. Curbed contends that Seattle has “that sweet spot between income, taxes, and housing costs for tech workers”.

2. King 5 reports that the Greater Seattle Business Associating hosted its first LGBT economic summit. This summit welcomee LGBT business leaders from Washington, California, Oregon, Nevada, and Hawaii. “When you see that there are thousands and thousands of LGBT business owners and allied business owners and that together, we can affect laws, we can work on issues of equality, and we can support our community and non-profits, it will empower us” said Greater Seattle Business Association President Louise Chernin.

3. Education Brands, a national company that provides education services for 4,000 schools across the country, acquired Seattle education company Ravenna Solutions. The two companies are teaming up to provide cloud service and payment solutions for the nation’s schools, according to GeekWire

4. Puget Sound Business Journal put out their list of 2016’s largest start-up deals in Washington state. “In Seattle specifically, there continues to be more and more investors, whether angel investors or venture capital funds,” Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer said.

Computer Science at UW receives a generous donation. Washington state job report brings good news. Seattle’s tech workers are in it for the long haul. Seattle Startup takes on stitches.

1. The University of Washington’s computer science program is getting a name change. After a generous $40 million dollar donation from Paul Allen, the school will be named the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering. “The expanded program will help supply talent-starved Seattle-area technology companies with employees” per the Puget Sound Business Journal.

2. A recent job report from the Washington State Employment Security Department found that Washington’s unemployment rate “held firm” in January at 5.1%. This was good news because preliminary estimates had Washington state losing 7,200 jobs in January. Read the whole report from the Kirkland Reporter.

3. Seattle’s tech workers are a loyal bunch Geekwire reports. Software engineers stay an average of six months longer than their counterparts in San Francisco. This may seem like an insignificant difference, but it is a large chunk of the average total time engineers stay with a company: 29 months in Seattle to 23 months in San Francisco. This is just another data point that Seattle’s workforce is among the best in the country.

4. A Seattle startup is developing a high-tech replacement to stitches. KitoTech Medical’s MicroMend resembles a Band-Aid and uses micro staples to hold the edge o a wound together. This could make your next bad fall a little less of a hassle! They are planning a commercial launch this summer. Read the whole story on Geekwire

Dick’s wants your input on their new location. The economic case for diversity and inclusion. Seattle program gets acclaim. Virtual reality helps with construction.

1. Dick’s Burgers is opening a new restaurant, and they want Seattle’s input on where it should be located. Kiro 7 reports that Dick’s will decide where their seventh location will be via online voting. Voters will choose a location on the Eastside or in South Seattle. Congrats to Dick’s on a well-deserved expansion!

2. The more research, the more obvious it is that diversity and inclusion are pivotal to a healthy and growing economy. New data from the City of Seattle and New American Economy stated that immigrants paid $6.5 billion in state and local taxes and held $16.9 billion dollars in spending power in 2014. Moreover, the University of Washington’s student newspaper, The Daily, recently published an article laying out the economic argument for welcoming cities. Bottom Line Blog published facts that corroborated this argument in January. Naturalizing every undocumented immigrant in Washington state would grow the GDP by $31.5 billion over 10 years per the analysis of Robert Lynch and Patrick Oakford of the Center for American Progress. The annual cost of losing and replacing workers who quit their job due to discrimination is $64 billion dollars per year according to the Policy Link and Marguerite Casey Foundation. While diversity and inclusion are bedrock principles of the American dream, they are also good for business.

3. The Capitol Hill Times is reporting that Only in Seattle funds are boosting economic development on Capitol Hill. The article lays out how the funds will be distributed and the improvements that are expected.

4. Virtual reality is an exciting technology that continues to get more immersive and user-friendly. The Daily Journal of Commerce reports that Local engineers from Magnusson Klemencic Associates are aiming to use VR to make buildings less costly and easier to build. This application would allow engineers and builders to “virtually stand inside the building and look around to better understand how the pieces will fit together”. Expect to continue seeing groundbreaking and innovative VR applications in the years to come.

Learn about a key leader in Seattle’s Biotech industry. Restaurateurs take action. A new program seeks to preserve Seattle’s legacy businesses. It’s award season for LGBTQ business leaders.

1. Seattle Business Magazine profiles Leslie Alexander, CEO and President of Life Science Washington. Alexander discusses her Washington state roots, her success at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and her strategy to engage legislators with the work Seattle’s biotech industry does so well. Life Science Washington is an organization that seeks to “support and grow Washington’s life sciences” through advocacy, collaboration, and investment.

2. The Seattle Times analyzes how restaurants engage in political advocacy. The column discusses recent fundraising campaigns by restaurateurs and how political action affects their businesses.

3. The Legacy Business Program is a recently proposed policy to help preserve Seattle’s oldest and most cherished businesses. MyNorthwest recently wrote a story on the proposed program and shared the perspective of legacy business owners.

4. Nominate outstanding LGBTQ business leaders and owners for the Puget Sound Business Journal’s Pride of Outstanding Voices Awards! The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that they are “looking for outstanding LGBTQ business leaders, allies, and advocates who are advancing equality in the business world”.

Dine Around Seattle is a biannual event that gives Seattleites an opportunity to explore the city’s exquisite restaurant scene. From March 5-23rd, Sunday through Thursday, 50 restaurants will offer a choice of two to three discounted courses consisting of appetizers, entrees, cocktails, or desserts for a set price. Select locations will also offer lunch. Participating restaurants include Ballard’s Skillet Diner, Belltown’s ORFEO, Capitol Hill’s Tango, Central District’s Seven Beef, Fremont’s Pomerol, South Lake Union’s Flying Fish, and much more.

The Dine Around Seattle campaign highlights small businesses that are crucial to Seattle’s economy. A dollar spent at a local independent restaurant creates three times more jobs, income, and wealth than a dollar spent at a national chain. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 8.2% of Seattleites work in food service or preparation. These are jobs that are accessible for all and can serve as a vehicle for economic mobility.

For more information on participating restaurants, prices, and locations, visit Dine Around Seattle’s website.